


Alone Together

by flyingisabetterwordforfalling (FlyingFalling)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Avengers Feels, Avengers Tower, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Families of Choice, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Nightmares, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 22:31:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6302737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyingFalling/pseuds/flyingisabetterwordforfalling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They did not need to talk about it, all of them had their nightmares.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alone Together

**Author's Note:**

> This can be interpreted as a prequel to my story The Yoga Challenge, which takes place after Civil War http://archiveofourown.org/works/10270589 (of course with certain changes).

Steve sat beside Natasha, holding her hand. Bruce had taken a look at them, sitting together on the couch, turned around and had then come back with a blanket. Steve looked gratefully at him when he took it, just for a brief moment letting go of Natasha's hand, as he put the blanket around her shoulders. Bruce sat down on her other side, remaining silent while sitting next to her.

But hidden under the cover Natasha also grabbed his hand as she leaned her head against Steve's shoulder. He moved a bit closer to her, and muttered slightly blushing trivial things, knowing just hearing her friend's voices usually calmed her down after having a nightmare. Not that she had officially told him she sometimes suffered from nightmares. However Steve knew, because he did as well. Most of them did. Thus he held her hand again, and Bruce also muttered now and then some incoherent sentences, needed to speak, needed to know there was another person listening. After a while Natasha could hardly keep her eyes open anymore and snuggled half asleep even more against Steve. Before the other man could do so Bruce covered her with the blanket again when it slipped off her shoulders.

"Could't sleep as well?", he turned to Steve, and Steve ran his fingers through his hair, instead of an answer he simply nodded. They did not need to talk about it, all of them had their nightmares.

A little later, someone slipped past them, however, came back with a glass of water. Tony, more asleep than actually awake, sat, almost on the armrest, down next to Bruce.

"Morning everyone." He murmured more under his breath than actually saying it, clutching his glass of water between his fingers. He was pale and looked as sleep-deprived as the others.

"Morning." Steve replied with a timid yawn, and leaned his head against Natasha's. Seeing Tony for once not joking, or saying anything at all about their situation showed how exhausted he was.

Some time later Bruce started from his doze as his mobile suddenly vibrated in his breast pocket. Surprisingly, Natasha was the only one who did not wake up, still laying quietly, breathing calm and steady. Steve looked questioningly over to Bruce and Tony read the message over his shoulder, as he opened it.

"Robin Hood seeks his Maid Marian." he summed up the message for Steve, but his usual smile was missing. Instead of an answer, or showing even the tiniest sign of annoyance, Bruce rolled his eyes and typed a response, reassuring Clint and writing him where Natasha had gone.

They did not have to wait long, Clint did not take long to reach them. When he did, he merely glanced at the group and did not even raise an eyebrow, before he took one of the blankets and throwing the blanket over them, sat down next to Steve. Tony was still sipping on his water, but now half-leaning against Bruce on the couch. Gradually Bruce was asleep, Tony tilted even more to the side, eventually slipped off the arm rest and onto Bruce's lap, and continued to sleep there. Steve smiled, grabbed Tony's empty glass and set it on the coffee table. He tried to move as little as possible, anxious to not wake the others. Without another word Clint also leaned against his shoulder, almost as fast asleep as Natasha had been before.

Besides Steve Natasha seemed to wake up, she mumbled something that sounded vaguely like ''Try to sleep, grandpa.'', before she seemed to fall asleep again. Steve noticed her gentle smile, returned it, and also closed his eyes.

The next morning the group was awakened by a grinning Pepper, who held a camera in her hand, amused about the fact that Natasha was the only one who had managed not to end up in a pile of arms and legs on the floor.

Years later Natasha sat again in the middle of the night on the couch, next to her was Tony, who once again sipped on a glass of water. He ignored her critical look as well as the half-crumpled photo in her hands. Tony would not say it out loud, but he missed the others, their former friendship, as much as she did.


End file.
